Everyday Life
The everyday life of Sims in The Sims 1 was a busy one. Sims would often take almost an hour to take a shower, and ages to prepare and consume food. But in the Sims 2, that has been much improved. One of the major complaints was that Sims hardly knew the way around their own home and sometimes they'd just go nowhere because something (or somebody) was in the way. No more of that in the Sims 2 - housemates hardly ever really stand in the way, and if they do, it will take just a second for them to move on. Even stairs can be used by multiple Sims at a time now. The worst case scenario is that they walk through eachother, which according to SimsZone isn't great, but better than Sims standing still or spinning around on their spot. Sims will now actually get to B when going from A to B.

That improvement saves a lot of time for your Sims, but there are more improvements time-wise. For example, when a Sim is preparing food for the entire family, some Sims might already sit down at a table waiting for the plate to be served. Sims also get up with a bit more ease, and instead of taking 20 minutes they will get up without much trouble even if you wake them a little early. Moods are also not as much an issue as in its predecessor, as they will stay green longer. Sims don't need the toilet as much anymore, except for the old geezers. And employers are also no longer the slavedrivers as known from The Sims 1. At noon Sims have their lunch break and the hunger and bladder bars go back to green. After a hard day of work, Sims come home nearly fit - it's just some energy that they really lost. So if your Sim is a bit late for work and misses breakfast, it's not too bad. Furthermore, Sims are smarter now, and they can actually take care of themselves. You don't have to look after them all the time anymore, as they will take care of their basic needs when necessary. And as Sims can now have fun almost everywhere - from stargazing in the grass or dreaming in the bed, it will get the fun bar up. Sims won't be bored as there are many options for them to be entertained.

There is now much more time, that occiasionally you might even need to find something to do for your Sims. Having too little time is now something that rarely happens, though mainly because of a new generation. But as Sims grow old quickly, it shouldn't be too much trouble. And it's not just taking a shower etc. that takes less time - making friends is now also easier and quicker than before. Skills too are aquired more quickly now, which means getting promotion in a career is now also easier. So without a doubt, time can be used much more efficiently now, compared to the Sims 1.

Family and Friends
Relationships used to be very plain in the past. Hot Date and future expansions made it slightly more advanced, by adding a second relationship score. In The Sims 2 it works in a similar way; the daily score can be improved quite easily, whereas you need to keep it up for more than just a day to get the lifetime score improved. However, as mentioned in the previous article, getting the relationship going is easier and faster. It's fairly easy for Sims to become friends within a day. New is also that instead of having to call friends, they will sometimes call you as well. Relationships can also be maintained over the phone by just chatting, but it's better for Sims to meet each other - at home or in a community area.

There are also NPCs which seem to be randomly generated regularly, so there are always some computer-controlled Sims around. You can start chatting with any Sim, including NPCs, and become friends with the maid, gardener or the mailman. Even shy Sims won't have much problems getting new friends - children will take friends home after school, or older Sims come home with a colleague for some quality time. There are also different levels of friendship, and Sims can for instance become "best friends". Falling in love needs a bit more work though, and engagements or weddings are in your own hands.

The level of friendship also defines what interactions between the Sims are available. Friends won't do very wild things together, while newly weds won't be able to make a baby the first night. As the Sims 2 also knows which Sims are related, different options may appear as well. Siblings for instance can't do many different kisses. Parents can also encourage nice behaviour for their kids. As introduced with Hot Date, there are several different types of kissing. Sims also get a special kick from the changing booths in town. The animations are somewhere between affectionately and passionately, which works a little beastly. Yet everything is with taste so the game can be sold to Teens too.

As soon as a Sim has reached the age of Teen, they will be able to move out. They will leave the parental home with a taxi, after which they will appear as new family in the neighborhood screen, with §20,000 to get started. And those 20 grant can be easily earnt by moving back in with the parents... Family relations of course are kept intact (except for marriages), also when children move out. When it comes to inheriting, things are a little complicated. If the last Sim of a household dies, all the property will go lost. So it's best to move the geezers back in with their parents before they die, to keep the money running in the family.

Written at 23:55 on Wednesday, 18 August 2004 by ChEeTaH.